Leona Helmsley "queen of mean" Died

[luvbeaches]

You are a very kind woman. :blowkiss:

Well, thank you.

I love your reasoning, understanding and compassion towards others even those that seem undeserving. I'm trying to get to the point where you are and I'm getting there, but I have momentary lapses every now and then.

 

[Vegas Bride]

According to the article about the maid who was bitten, Leona did leave billions to charity. I wonder which charities they were? So the 12 mil for the dog and 10 mil each to 2 grandkids was quite small in comparison to what charities were given. It also mentioned she left 100,000 to her chauffer and he was grateful. I have no doubt she was a very difficult person to work for or to even just be around but you know there are many other people out there just like her, only they don't have all her money! In the end I believe she paid the price for her choices through life just like we all do.
I'd also be curious to know what her family was like when she was a child, did she have siblings? I know in my own family there is a mean spirit that seems to be passed on with some from generation to generation.

VB

 

[jilly]

"Helmsley, who died last month, left the eight-year-old Maltese $12 million and asked her brother to see to it that her beloved pooch live out her life [Newsday] in the lap of luxury. But her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, to whom Helmsley left $15 million and a percentage of her charitable trust, isn't biting."

http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/899209.php?contentType=4&contentId=876244

 

[PaperDoll]

He should take the dog IMO...

 

[Taximom]

Leona's dog loses all but $2 million:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/nyregion/17trouble.html?ref=nyregion

Judge Renee Roth of Manhattan Surrogate Court has reduced the trust fund for the little dog, named Trouble, from $12 million to $2 million. (more at link)

 

[j2mirish]

Leona's dog loses all but $2 million:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/nyregion/17trouble.html?ref=nyregion

Judge Renee Roth of Manhattan Surrogate Court has reduced the trust fund for the little dog, named Trouble, from $12 million to $2 million. (more at link)

I have a hard time understanding how a judge can take it upon him/her self to change a will :waitasec:- I am sure there was no "legal loophole " in the will- dont get me wrong- I dont believe the dog needs 12 million dollars- but why can someone change the will? I am sure there was tremendous money spent in legal fee's for the will she had drawn

 

[lisag]

I have a hard time understanding how a judge can take it upon him/her self to change a will :waitasec:- I am sure there was no "legal loophole " in the will- dont get me wrong- I dont believe the dog needs 12 million dollars- but why can someone change the will? I am sure there was tremendous money spent in legal fee's for the will she had drawn

I found this:
However, in the April 30 judgment (published only on June 16, 2008), Manhattan Surrogate Court Judge Reena Roth further ruled Helmsley was mentally unfit when she executed her will. Hence, the Court, amid settlement, awarded $ 4 million to the charity, and $ 6 million to Craig and Meegan Panzirer, who were disinherited by the will (if they would keep silent about their complaint with their grandmother and deliver to her any documents).

The same article states that the two grandchildren, Meegan and Craig, were left out fo the will because they failed to name any of their children after her late husband.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Helmsley

 

[southcitymom]

I have a hard time understanding how a judge can take it upon him/her self to change a will :waitasec:- I am sure there was no "legal loophole " in the will- dont get me wrong- I dont believe the dog needs 12 million dollars- but why can someone change the will? I am sure there was tremendous money spent in legal fee's for the will she had drawn

J2m - the Judge can't just do that willy nilly. The facts and law have to support such a position. I would assume that attorneys for some of the disinherited relatives may have gone over the Will with a fine tooth comb and found loopholes, problems, issues (you know - all that good stuff lawyers traffic in!).

 

[AlwaysShocked]

Judges can do lots and lots of things. They "change people's wills" all the time. They also "spend people's money", by ordering child support and spousal support payments. In marital asset division cases, they decide which spouse receives what portion of the value of the house, bank accounts and any other property accumulated during the marriage.

Judges use the guidlines of the particular state law when making these decisions. But somebody has to make the decision, and that's what the job of a judge is - to make the final decision in cases wherre the involved parties do not agree.

 

[shana]

I found this:
However, in the April 30 judgment (published only on June 16, 2008), Manhattan Surrogate Court Judge Reena Roth further ruled Helmsley was mentally unfit when she executed her will. Hence, the Court, amid settlement, awarded $ 4 million to the charity, and $ 6 million to Craig and Meegan Panzirer, who were disinherited by the will (if they would keep silent about their complaint with their grandmother and deliver to her any documents).

The same article states that the two grandchildren, Meegan and Craig, were left out fo the will because they failed to name any of their children after her late husband.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Helmsley

Thank you, lisag. Bolding is mine in quote.

I would wonder on what basis the Judge took the authority to make that ruling. Establishing a conservatorship for an elderly person not of sound mind is no easy task when the individual is alive, let alone dead and beyond psychiatric evaluation.

As well, I'm surprised that the will was not locked-down to say that any heir even just by lineage objecting to its terms would be removed from consideration (read: money).

Awarding $2 mil to the dog and the rest reverting back to the charitable trust established in the names of Leona & Harry is likely what would happen at the time the dog expired...easy call.

One would have hoped that in the end, Leona would have grown a heart.

btw and as an aside, I have it on good word from someone who knew him just pre-Leona that Harry Helmsley was a fine man. This is all about HIS money, after all.

 

[Taximom]

I think she was mentally unfit for a LONG time. IMO